Real estate developer Donald (d. 2009) was frustrated when he couldn't find a pair of jeans that fit. Along with wife Doris, he turned that vexation into the first Gap store in 1969. It started as a San Francisco jeans and music store. Today, the retail chain operates about 3,200 stores with brands including Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta. With 1,100 works by 185 artists, Doris Fisher maintains

an art collection that is nearly as valuable as her stake in Gap. Her art collection focuses on 1960s contemporary art and includes a number of works from Andy Warhol, as well as Roy Lichtenstein, Chuck Close and Gerhard Richter. An expansion project at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, to be completed in 2016, will permanently display the collection. The Gap cofounder is also a noted philanthropist, with an interest in education; she is a cofounder and board member of the KIPP Foundation, which supports the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) public charter schools. Doris' sons Robert and William both serve on the Gap board. A third son, John, owns a significant stake in the company as well and manages the family's investment group, Pisces Inc.

Follow Banana Republic or sister brand Old Navy on Twitter or Facebook and you’ll be taken behind the scenes on ad shoots or offered styling tips. Theirs are typical fashion brand feeds, albeit produced with more sophistication and digital savvy than some competitors.

But take a look at the social media accounts of parent company Gap read »

“Any fool can make a fortune; It takes a man of brains to hold onto it after it is made,” Cornelius Vanderbilt famously said. Today, 185 of America’s Richest Families boast an aggregate net worth of $1.2 trillion and several of those fortunes are controlled by brainy women.

Perhaps the most remarkable matriarch in the ranking is Gertrude read »

The box that has housed the Wu-Tang Clan’s secret album for much of the past year recently arrived at MoMA PS1 in Queens, carried by a white-gloved porter and flanked by security guards–but it almost didn’t make it through customs. read »

Asia has a record number of billionaires on the new Forbes Billionaires List out yesterday, a sign of great prosperity. Yet many pillars of the Asian business landscape are now in their twilight years. Among them, Asia’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, is 86.

What are the risks involved when great wealth and power pass from one generation to read »

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey was threatened by supporters of the Islamic State, raising the issue of how social media can be used both to liberate the oppressed and to spread fear and messages of terror. read »